Training and Nostalgia

Today was supposed to be my long run day, but it was very hot! I started out thinking I'd give it a try, but decided to turn back early and do Friday's hill repeats instead. I'll do my long run Friday.

There is a steep gravel hill that is about 150 meters long that is great for fast uphills, and just as good for steep downhill practice. The downhills over steep, loose gravel and rocks really require confidence, I have to just let go and fly over the stuff. For the workout I ran hard up the hill, looped around an easy 400 meter trail and field loop, ran hard down the hill and looped around the 400 meter Polliwog Loop through the woods. I repeated this 6 times. It really worked well.

The past few days have been nostalgic for me. I received a phone call from a long time running friend, Tom. We used to travel to races together "back in the day." He was good at gathering a group of road racers and psyching us all up for great racing adventures in different places. He started out his phone call the same way he starts his call every year around this time, "we missed you at Sugarloaf." Let me tell you, I haven't raced Sugarloaf in probably ten years. I get calls at other times of the year from him as well, "Didn't see you at Boston," or "Were you at Beach to Beacon," or "Mid Winter Classic," or "Yankee Homecoming," or "eastern States?" I enjoy his calls. I haven't run any of these races in years. It's nice to know that at least one person misses seeing me at them! I always give him the same response before changing the subject, "maybe next year."

I ran into a training friend/ racing rival, Rose at the grocery store on Saturday. She still looks lean and mean and fast. She confirmed that she is still training hard and running fast. But she says she isn't interested in racing much anymore. I also ran into another old running friend, Patty while visiting a client over the weekend. She doesn't run anymore, but stays very fit and active doing other things. It's nice how that running bond that develops between people lasts over the years. With both of these women, I felt comfortable and at ease, as if a decade hadn't gone by since we last talked.